Page 120 - Taming Your Gremlin A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way (Rick Carson)_Neat

The following is another option:

JUST IMAGINE IT

There is a great deal of emphasis nowadays on the belief or at least the
possibility that if you can imagine something, you can have it.

It’s a lie. At least it’s not true in my experience, and I’ve given the
theory a first-class run for its money. That’s not to say that positive

visualization and positive self-talk cannot do wonders in your life. They
can. I, for one, have benefited from and appreciate the work and wisdom of
Bernie Siegel, as reported in his book Love, Medicine, and Miracles, and
the work of other pioneers in the field of creative visualization, such as Carl
and Stephanie Simonton. But as for me, I tend to run headlong into limits—
maybe because I believe there are limits. I’m not sure. A former client of

mine named Joanne described the dilemma aptly.

Joanne and her husband Glenn were deeply involved, not just with one
another, but with an organization to which they belonged. The organization
sponsored an ongoing series of personal growth seminars that Joanne and
Glenn attended weekly. Some of these were evening events, and others
were workshops that lasted for several days. Throughout the time I
counseled Joanne and Glenn, they continued to participate in these events
and made some very positive changes. As individuals, they were expanding

their boundaries (and their jargon), but circumstances in their marriage were
still far less than rosy. In one of our sessions, Joanne expressed her fear that
their marriage would fall apart, to which Glenn replied, “Joanne, if you hold
in your mind that our marriage will fall apart, our marriage will fall apart.”
Joanne looked at Glenn calmly and then asked, simply, “Well, Glenn, if I

hold in my mind that our dog, Rags, will crap gold nuggets, will he?”

Joanne has a way with words, and I offer these particular ones to you
simply as a way of saying that while, in my opinion, creative visualization
is among the most exciting options you and I have for promoting positive
change in our lives, it’s a good idea to balance it with some constructive
thought, some hard work, and some good choices.